Specialty Tools

[IMA SOL MAN]

We had a problem with the belt slipping, so got a spray can of belt dressing that took care of the problem.

 

[Poppy]

We used to just use wd40 to temporarily silence the bad bearing to know which one it was but a course now that seems like it may harm the belt

I'd use a mechanic's stethoscope to listen to the bearings.
Of Course, mine is in my son's toolbox.

I know that I could also use a long screwdriver, held to my ear, but I was too lazy to actually troubleshoot the sound.

 

[Poppy]

We had a problem with the belt slipping, so got a spray can of belt dressing that took care of the problem.

I have a can of that too. But in my old age, I figure that if the belt is worn enough to squeal, it is worn enough to be replaced. Besides at 289,000 miles, a little preventive maintenance is a good idea.

 

[PhotonWrangler]

Having run into a situation with a broken key recently, I bought a key extractor set. They resemble lock picks but they're not. The metal is much thinner so they can reach into tiny crevices. I can see these coming in handy for other uses besides the rare broken key, when I need a really thin metal shim to pop a stuck latch on an ejector mechanism.

 

[yeoldoak]

Fitting new Shimano brake calipers to an 18yr old Trek bike, converting
IS mount to post mount fitting created some alignment issues, pads
rubbing on disc rotor and had maxed out the position setting, no option
but to remove some metal and re face the mounts to give me the adjustment
to position the caliper by about .45mm.

Was lucky to pick up this tool couple weeks back that made it possible
to accurately face the brake mount tabs.

 

[Voider of Warranties]

Living in the Portland weather with thousands of feet of rain gutters and probably 400-500 downspouts on the complex's 22 acres, I was still quite new on the job when I got tired of climbing ladders every time someone exclaimed "Waterfall!" to describe a clogged downspout. I quickly built this not-particularly-inspired contraption from a pool skimming net pole and 1.25" dowels.

It's taken a beating in 19 years of spiking leaves into downspouts, and it's been repaired many times, but it has saved what's left of my aching knees thousands of times by now. Building the triangle into the framework makes for a rigid structure and allows for two angles from which to attack the leaf clogs.

 

[PhotonWrangler]

This is a "comb" for straightening individual wires in a Cat-x cable, a necessary step prior to crimping a connector on it.